Happy Wednesday! I’ve been looking forward to the weekend since Monday morning, so I’m pretty pumped to be half way there!
Before I get into today’s post, I’ll give you a quick update on my knee issue, because I know you’ve all been waiting with baited breath…right? 😉
After a pretty busy weekend hustling around the city, my knee actually feels much better then it did last week. It’s not making that god awful popping and clicking noise and it’s not painful to squat or stand up from a sitting position anymore. I was feeling pretty good about things, and ready to move past this whole thing, but decided to give it one more week of treatment (which for me means massage therapy and a visit to the good ‘ol chiropractor) just to be sure.
Sadly my massage therapist actually scared the living crap out of me by suggesting that I had some of the symptoms of a torn meniscus. Wikipedia tells me that: a tear of a meniscus is a rupturing of one or more of the fibrocartilage strips in the knee called menisci and basically that this is a pretty serious injury that may even require surgery to repair. Thanks Wikipedia.
I don’t really know if I have a reason to be totally freaking out or not. Like I said, I was feeling pretty confident that it was on the mend earlier this week….but of course now that someone has suggested otherwise, it’s all I’m thinking about, and it doesn’t feel so good anymore. I’m trying not to freak out too much until I talk to my chiropractor tonight, and get his take on the whole thing. He’s usually pretty good at reassuring me that I’m not dying nor am I in danger of losing any limbs.
I should be on a soap opera. Seriously.
Anyways, over to my original intention for this post (you know, before I freaked myself out even more by writing down my deepest, darkest fears and re-reading them 12 times, each), and that’s the second post in my Les Mills International Series!
If you missed the first part of the series, check it out here. Ready, set…GO!
Done?! Okay, so today’s post is all about my favourite Les Mills discipline: BodyAttack. It’s a really tough call; I’m totally in love with BodyStep and BodyPump, and lots of the other ones that I don’t teach as well for that matter, but BodyAttack has always had this special little corner of my heart for some reason, and I think it still has the (slight) edge.
So what is BodyAttack? Straight from the Les Mills website (www.lesmills.com), here is the program description:
BODYATTACK™ is the sports-inspired cardio workout for building strength and stamina. This high-energy interval training class combines athletic aerobic movements with strength and stabilization exercises. Dynamic instructors and powerful music motivate everyone towards their fitness goals – from the weekend athlete to the hard-core competitor!
Essentially, BodyAttack is a 55 minute plyometric sports training class designed with a clean, simple mission statement:
Get Fit. Stay Fit. Get Fitter.
Yes please.
Some of the typical moves that you can expect to see in every BodyAttack class (or at least the vast majority of classes) include things like:
- Lots of running
- Jumping Jacks
- Jump Squats
- Plyometric Lunges
- Pushups
- Pushups (Suffice to say I did not put these twice by accident. *Shudder*)
- Ice Skaters
- Agility based moves (i.e fast feet, ladder runs)
- Tuck Jumps
- High Kicks
Phew. It makes me tired just looking at it all.
Attack does have some similarities to programs like Crossfit, except that of course the moves are choreographed to (amazing) music.
The class is also led by an instructor, and the goal of the program is to be very inclusive. This means that Attack is not only for the super-fit, nor is it only for the hardcore competitor. It is truly for everybody, and can be done at any level of impact/intensity. Also, (not a critical fact but still fun to know), each of the Les Mills International programs are branded with a colour. BodyAttack’s program colour is yellow!
My BodyAttack journey started back in 2007 when the program was launched at our gym for the first time. Up until that point, I had been doing BodyPump and BodyStep quite regularly, but I still had a long way to go in terms of losing weight and improving my fitness. I walked into my first BodyAttack Class (which was held in the studio that I now basically live in…so ironic), and had no idea what to expect.
It knocked me flat on my back.
I walked out of the studio in a haze wondering if anyone got the license plate of the truck that had just hit me.
But for some reason, from that very first class, I couldn’t get enough of the program! I was at the gym for every Attack class I could get to. I completely fell in love with the infectious music; the totally incredible instructors and the hardcore workout that made me feel like I was really taking strides to improve my level every single week. It was my total infatuation with BodyAttack that first put the seed in my head that I wanted to become an instructor.
I guess I owe more to this program then I realized.
I teach BodyAttack once per week regularly, but I will often sub a second class. I see Attack playing a really important role in my Ironman training as a way to improve endurance, functional strength as well as mental toughness. On weeks where I just can’t get in another run or bike, Attack will have to sub in for these activities.
So there you have it! Are you dying to get out to your first class?! If you’re not sold yet, check out this video to seal the deal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-DBQtzfKO4&feature=related
If you’re looking for an Attack class in your area, message me or leave me a comment and I’d be happy to hook you up with a free pass to give it a try! But foretold is forewarned…it may just change your life!
Stay tuned for the next “spotlight” in this series which will be on another program near and dear to my heart: BodyStep!
Have a great Wednesday afternoon!
Going The Distance 
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